Provident Hospital originally opened in 1891 to provide quality healthcare and training to African-Americans on Chicago's south side. Throughout the next century, the hospital continued to fulfill its mission of serving all community residents regardless of their ability to pay. Rising hospital costs made it difficult for Provident to survive as a private facility, it closed in 1987. In 1990, the Cook County Board purchased the facility from the federal government, investing nearly $58 million to upgrade clinical systems, purchase and repair equipment, and construct a multi-level parking garage. Provident Hospital of Cook County re-opened in August 1993, as a public hospital and an integral part of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services.

Provident Hospital offers adult medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, neonatology, obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics. Among the hospital's facilities are: